BVI becoming a dumping ground

Political commentator and clergyman Claude Skelton Cline has raised concerns about the BVI becoming a dumping ground for derelict vehicles, waste, and substandard imports.

Appearing on his Honestly Speaking radio programme, the talk show host urged residents to take responsibility for their environment and stop normalising uncleanliness.

“This is our home,” Skelton Cline stated. “How have we normalised such dirtiness? How is it that we think it is normal and cute?”

Skelton Cline criticised the state of the territory’s waterfronts, which he said have been turned into parking lots for derelict vehicles, boats, and garbage. “Too much of our waterfront space is underdeveloped, and that which is not developed, what do we do? We turn them into parking garages, derelict dead vehicles, boats, garbage dumps, you name it,” he argued.

Those right-hand drive vehicles

The commentator also took issue with the importation of ageing, right-hand drive vehicles, which he said do not meet proper emission standards and quickly become abandoned along the roadsides.

“We are allowing these things in the Virgin Islands, further contaminating our airspace. We are dying from all kinds of cancers, and we don’t know where it is coming from,” he explained.

His concerns echo previous debates about the environmental impact of older vehicles in the territory. In response to similar issues raised last year, Communications and Works Minister Kye Rymer announced that legislation was being drafted to restrict the importation of vehicles older than 10 years. Proposed amendments to the Customs Act would impose significantly higher duties on older models, though a full ban was not being considered.

Skelton Cline also criticised waste management practices, accusing residents of contributing to the problem. “You are driving around with garbage on top of your vehicle… You saw it fall, know it fell, and you don’t stop to pick it up,” he said.

He warned that poor environmental practices could have long-term consequences, particularly for the marine industry. “All that stuff ends up in the water, in the ocean, which is a part of our livelihood in more ways than one. We eat from it. We use it as transportation,” he added.

In his appeal to the government, Skelton Cline called for stronger enforcement of existing regulations and new policies to curb environmental degradation. “We have to stop making our waterfront places and spaces dumping grounds,” he urged.

Skelton Cline also emphasised the need for leadership to ensure that BVI remains clean and well-maintained. “If we’re not even going to follow our own rules and laws, then who will?” he questioned.